dikman

Groan..................

When I made my stacked leather handle for my mallet I glued them using PVA wood glue. I slid them onto a length of threaded rod and clamped them tight with nuts and washers, slowly tightening them as the leather compressed. If you tap a thread in the end of the handle (good idea) you could use this process directly on the mallet. I reckon a hex-head bolt would closer match the age of it than an Allen-head bolt.

That's a lot of stamping! Good job.

Nice job - and no welding required! The simplest way to slow it down even further is to replace the handwheel with a larger pulley BUT you'll probably have to extend the slot in the table where the belt goes through.

Wouldn't it need it's own special feed dog?

I'd just like to reinforce what Bladegrinder said - buffing wheels can be extremely dangerous if you get a "catch"! The loose floppy ones in particular, I approach them with a degree of caution, having had a few things grabbed by them and flung hard against the wall behind. I have a couple of different grits but I tend to use green mostly, seems to work fine for my needs.

Looks good to me! You did a great job on the pattern, it's quite complex. Once it's used and gets a bit worn any perceived imperfections will disappear.

Given that a rifle sling is going to be handled a lot and outdoors in the weather I reckon a good wax would be the the best option.

A daunting task indeed, given the age and condition of the leather. You did an excellent job.

I doubt if any airbrush would be able to spray NFO, as Fred said it would need to be thinned a lot! Which then raises the question of which solvent to use? This would apply to spray bottles as well. It's not something I would even consider doing.

I think you made the right decision, you've probably avoided a lot of stress/messing around/anguish! I was in a similar situation once over a $450 mini-lathe, dealing with the chinese company was frustrating and Paypal were unhelpful, refusing to acknowledge my consumer rights under Australian Consumer Laws. It took me three months and then only after I got the Australian financial authorities involved did Paypal relent and give me a refund (grudgingly, I must add). I should have taken the company's best offer!

That sort of reply is pretty typical when dealing with Chinese companies, they generally try to avoid refunds/returns as much as possible. I have had issues in the past and have tried to get help from ebay/paypal and they usually insist that I have to return the goods first at my expense (which can be an expensive proposition). I'm a bit surprised, I thought Vevor were better than that, I guess not.

Bearing noise?

A cylinder arm is probably the most useful overall. My first machine was a post bed (given to me by a friend) but I hardly use it.

So I guess Reliable aren't very reliable.........

That brass one with the wood inlay is almost a work of art itself.

Looks very nice to me, just tell them to keep the dog away from it!

Maybe should have washed it off with a baking soda solution to neutralize it?

GerryR, I wasn't aware that TIG pedals had a pot inside, I'll keep that in mind, thanks.

Something else to smuggle into the country?

Here in SA I can guarantee you would be arrested if you had one.

The big problem with using a 3-phase motor/VFD combination, in this particular case, is finding/making a suitable foot-operated pedal to control it (not as simple as you might think). I just tried to make one for a speed controller for a small sewing machine motor and gave up.

The belt is very nice, but where did you get that buckle, it's very impressive!

That machine looks to be in great condition! As for the feed dog and plate, I reckon filling with JB-Weld would be the simplest way.

The bed and adjustable guide is a good idea and should make it more useable. I guess it wouldn't be yours if you couldn't 3D print something for it.